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By U.S. Army Spc. Brian Glass
Task Force Patriot Public Affairs
SAYED ABAD, Afghanistan - Impressions are usually lasting and very hard to change, but an Afghan National Police chief is changing opinions and achieving positive results in Sayed Abad.
ANP Col. Abdull Gafoor is the chief of police in Sayed Abad. In the short time he has been in charge of the ANP in the Wardak province village, he has made vast improvements. Not only do the changes protect and benefit Sayed Abad residents, but they also boost morale and improve attitudes among his patrolmen.
“One of the things I can tell you now is that since he’s been here, the professionalism [of his men; and their] ability to be at the right place at the right time in the right uniform is astounding,” said U.S. Army Reserve Cpl. Neil Jones from St. Louis, assigned to 307th Psychological Operations Company. “We were in a meeting the other day with him, and there were (ANP) knocking on the door saluting with full kit on and battle ready.”
One of Gafoor’s improvements for his patrolmen is a volleyball pit dug at the ANP compound in Sayed Abad, which Jones said enticed some Afghan National Army soldiers to play.
With increased morale, the level of professionalism seemed to increase, as well.
Raising the level of professionalism among his police force is just the start of what Gafoor has done to protect citizens in the villages surrounding Sayed Abad. Gafoor and his patrolmen provided positive results, which raised the peoples’ respect for the ANP.
Gafoor said he and his men went on a mission with members of the International Security Assistance Force and confiscated two improvised explosive devices, 12 rocket-propelled grenades and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He then spoke of a night mission where he and three ANP searched a house and ultimately arrested an insurgent commander.
“On the next mission, I arrested a bad guy who had explosives; he was supposed to plant an IED in a road,” Gafoor continued. “I brought those things to the district center. I also found two more IEDs on a road that convoys come on; [explosive ordnance disposal personnel] came out and removed them.”
The success Gafoor achieved changed some local villagers’ perceptions about the ANP. Those changed views are something Jones said he hears about whenever he travels into the villages.
“Less than 30 days ago, we had a mission up to Salar,” Jones said. “We went through the bazaar, which at that point was in shambles security-wise ... Now, the villagers feel more secure [and] the Taliban ... [can’t] just walk through the bazaars freely.
“The people are very happy. One of the people I talked to is a teacher and owns a motorcycle business,” Jones continued. “He was thrilled to have the security there and felt like the police were being honest and upright. [Villagers] were excited to have a new level of security.”
With all of the positive steps Gafoor has taken to improve relations in the community, he still has to work on his people from within. Eliminating any doubts or suspicions about corruption can be a huge building block.
“[Gafoor] still has a few issues to work out from the [former] ANP there, but he is getting that resolved,” said J.D. Dodson from Phoenix, embedded police adviser assisting in training Sayed Abad ANP. “From what we’re seeing right now [and] from what we understand from the previous operations in the past few months since he’s taken over, he’s put a halt to a lot of the corruption. He’s put a halt to not being accountable.”
With winter fast approaching, some people think Taliban leaders are going to neighboring countries to escape the harsh weather. Gafoor has plans to do a lot of work during the winter, whether Taliban are here or not. With coalition forces helping to get ANA and ANP to take the initiative in securing Afghanistan, Gafoor’s leadership shows that with the right people in place, great things are on the horizon.
“We have winter in front of us, [and] in winter the bad guys leave here again for the freeze,” Gafoor said. “I am going to start searching houses and go into the villages and follow the bad guys; if not in the winter, [then] in the summer. It’s my job to follow the enemies and arrest the bad guys - to bring security to the villages so that the villagers can remain safe.”
| Date Taken: | 11.30.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2010 13:21 |
| Story ID: | 61100 |
| Location: | SAYED ABAD, AF |
| Web Views: | 339 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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